There are so many positive and rewarding aspects to being part of a community. Having lived here in the great Pacific Northwest for the past 8 years I feel in the last year I have reaped the benefits of being part of a wonderful community especially coming from a fast, paced city like Dallas, Texas. I have never had this until now. I find that being part of a community to be extremely beneficial to our body and mind. It creates compassion and selflessness in our hearts. Being part of a community can be many things from volunteering, attending a tai chi, qigong, meditation or yoga class, educating our communities about eating healthy and becoming active. There are endless opportunities for us to take advantage of. I have met so many wonderful and interesting people. I have also learned a lot from them and have made many wonderful friends. It has truly changed my life and my families. My husband and I will be teaching whole food plant-based classes. We get to share our stories and help educate people on the importance of eating healthy, delicious meals and how it has changed our lives. Hopefully it will inspire them. I think that everyone should try to reach out to their communities and try to make it a better community by giving what we can offer. I am looking forward to the month of June because volunteering for our Farmer's Market begins amongst other great volunteering opportunities. A healthy community is a healthy you because we're all One existence. One of my favorite quotes is "Everything for everyone, and nothing for ourselves." ("Para todos todo, para nosotros nada."). This quote comes from the EZLN (Zapatista movement in Chiapas, Mexico. This is the attitude we should have for our community and the world.

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​My life changed in 2008 when I suffered a gran mal seizure with no health problems or abnormalities. It has been a long journey of suffering and hardships for both myself and my family. Going down the road of incompetent neurologists that only threw medications at my seizure disorder and dismissing my approach of medicating with cannabis and diet. Finally after 3 1\2  years of suffering and frustrations, I found a wonderful neurologist who respected the approach I wanted to take and we now work together as a team.

The road to recovery and seizure control truly began when I changed my lifestyle. I lived the typical American life of eating out, consuming too much sugar (soft drinks, candy), processed foods and very sedative life. My husband is the one who has led me down this road. He was obese weighing 350 lbs and heavily medicated on antidepressants and benzos . Then there was me, heavily medicated on anti-epileptics and benzos, losing weight and getting depressed. We watched documentaries such as Forks over Knives, Engine 2, Food Matters, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and many more. It inspired us so much, we said "F*** this, we want our lives back. It's time to change or we will slowly die and won't be around to enjoy our daughters and future grandchildren." So we did. We started juicing and eating plant-based. My husband lost 160+ lbs, stopped having back problems and is medication free. I came off most of my medications and am now on two meds at very low dosage. I gained back healthy weight (107 lbs being 5'1) and regained motivation for life.
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Becoming plant-based literally saved and changed our lives. What I've learned these past 3 years being plant-based, is that we can take control of our health and mental well-being. For those that suffer with epilepsy just know there is hope and you can get your life back and take control. You don't have to necessarily embrace a plant-based lifestyle, but limit consumption of meat, dairy, processed foods and refined sugars. What we eat and put in our bodies is 90% diet and 10% exercise to be healthy. These percentages are not accurate but are somewhere in this range. Take control, educate yourself and enjoy life on a whole different level. Going plant-based doesn’t mean you have to be “perfect” all the time, however I encourage everybody to make this choice and to do the best they can. 

Here is a wonderful article from Forks Over Knives to give you insight to what a whole-food plant based diet consist of.

What is a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet?

​A whole-food, plant- based diet is centered on whole, unrefined, or minimally refined plants. It’s a diet based on fruits, vegetables, tubers, whole grains, and legumes; and it excludes or minimizes meat (including chicken and fish), dairy products, and eggs, as well as highly refined foods like bleached flour, refined sugar, and oil.
Learn more here about how to enjoy this delicious, life-saving lifestyle.

Benefits of a Whole-Food, Plant-Based Diet

A diet high in animal-based and highly processed foods makes people sick and overweight. But many of these sicknesses can be prevented, halted, and often reversed by eating a whole-food, plant-based diet. A whole-food, plant-based diet has been shown to:

• Lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar
• Reverse or prevent heart disease
• Prevent and reverse obesity
• Lower risk of cancer and diabetes
• Slow the progression of certain types of cancer
• Improve symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis
• Improve overall quality of life

Recipes pictured: 

• Sweet Potato Lasagna
• Lentil Soup
• South-of-the-Border Pizza
• Banana Pancakes

​Need more nutrition information? Learn more from our FAQs.

Sources:
US News
​Cleveland Clinic
Mayo Clinic
Kaiser Permanente
Web MD

**Article from Forks Over Knives

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